Not Ready To Lead
by Stretch
Summary: Peter Rasputin saved his friend's lives that fateful night. Now on their own, he will have to learn to be a leader or risk losing everyone he loves. *The story of the lost X kids & what happened after. Will be Peter/Kitty ~Chapter 3 Up! Please R&R!~*
1. Birth Of A Leader

            Peter Rasputin clutched the limp red head to his chest where he crouched on the cold ground.  The rough rocks bit into the tender skin of his back, but he was too exhausted to armor-up again, and there was too little room for him to move, so he pushed the pain to the back of his mind.  Around him, the raspy gasps of eight terrified children were the only noises that penetrated the cover of the night.  It was a welcome change from what had been, less than an hour earlier, a symphony of their terrified screams filling the air.  Screams and gunshots, or worse, screams and sudden silences.

            None of the children had spoken on their midnight trek through the woods.  They just clung to one another in a human chain, shaking and wide-eyed, but very much alive.  They had followed their un-spoken leader from the horror of their home, and into a new horror that was darkness and questions.  

That was the unknown.  

Still, though children they were, they had followed on bravely, never tiring…no, that probably wasn't right.  Every one of them was hovering on the brink of exhaustion.  Never complaining is the more accurate statement, not once protesting or questioning the judgment of their commander.  They were tiny soldiers, doing their duty.  That though made Peter's heart feel sick and heavy in his chest.

            He'd wondered before why fate had sought to deal these children the cards that it had.  Why it had decided to curse them with powers beyond their control and gifts that set them apart.  Why them, why these children and not others?  Why were the paths of these youths destined to be so much harder to walk then that of the world's other children?  For that was all he saw when he looked into their faces, into their innocent eyes shining brightly through the darkness; all he saw was childhood.  Had you set them among a crowd of school children, you would have been hard pressed to spot the mutants among the others.  And yet, despite their similarities, the world sought to drive them away because of their differences.  Peter absently rubbed Tracy's head in his hands as he mussed.

            'They're just children,' he thought as his eyes glimpsed them in the darkness.  'They shouldn't have to face this violence, this evil.  They're just children...'

            But then the voice in the back of his head reminded him that they were more than just children.  That genetics had saw fit to make them evolutionary marvels.  And that because of their genetic makeup, they would never be 'just children'.  They would always be mutant monsters to the rest of the world.

                                         *SNAP*

            The soft noise from beyond the narrow hiding space drew eight sharp gasps.  It should've drawn ten, but Tracy and Jones were still out cold from whatever had been in the darts they'd been hit with.  

            "Shhhhhhh!"  Peter prompted.  Automatically, he felt a pair of hands next to him reach out and cradle the prone Tracy.  Rhane's green eyes shone like beacons in the darkness as she accepted the weight of her classmate, he fallen comrade.  It was also an unspoken fact that if Peter didn't come back, she was second in command.  She prayed with all her might that it wouldn't come to that.  

Pete was forced to crouch low in small cave, as he rose from his position near the mouth and proceeded outside.  There were frightened whimpers behind him, like pleas begging him not to leave, but he paid them no notice.  Right now it was just important to make sure they hadn't been followed.  Peter scanned the area as he stepped out into the night, every sense alive and straining to hear or see if they were being tracked

              A moment later he was joined by Rhane, who must  have handed Tracy off to someone else inside.  She gently brushed her hand against his shoulder.  He jumped slightly.

            "Easy Pete, it was just a jackrabbit," she assured him.  "I can smell 'im."  

Peter couldn't help it.  He was tense, on edge, and it felt as if his mind was running on all eight cylinders.  He was shaking from exhaustion, and yet he couldn't bring himself to go back inside to sit down.  Doing that would mean facing everything that depended on him now, and it would mean looking for the faces he knew weren't among those within.  

"Peter…?" Rhane said tentatively.  The boy grunted in reply.  He couldn't bear to look her in the eyes, so he shifted his gaze to the forest canopy above, glimpsing the night sky above.  The stars seemed unusually bright and cruel tonight.  Had they laughed, Peter wondered, as they looked down upon the destruction and hatred that seemed to consume everything on this wretched planet?  Peter's train of thought was interrupted by Rhane's soft voice.  "You did good, Pete.  You might not think so, but ya did good."

"No Rhane.  I tourned and ran when I should haf stayed and fought."  He shook his head sadly.  "I should have done…something, anything!  But I didn't, I ran.  I failed."  Peter squashed his eyes closed in an attempt to ward off the onslaught of memories that threatened to overtake him, but he couldn't keep them lock away.  He felt tears burning down his cheeks as he saw Jubilee fall to the floor over and over and over inside his head.  Heard Tracy's hair-raising scream again and again.  Saw the soldiers.  Saw the anger.

Saw the blood.

He shook his head manically, trying to drive out the images and sounds and smells, but they kept playing like a tape on rewind.  And in the background a  hellish chorus sang 'you failed, you left them,' continually.

"Peter!"  Rhane slammed both her fists into his chest, and the shock threw off his funk.  She grabbed his shoulders in her little hands and shook him slightly, or at least she tried to.  "Listen to me, and listen good!  Those kids in there, including me, would be dead if it wasn't for you.  You saved Tracy, you got the rest of us out, and you risked your life to do it.  You did what you had to do, so don't you stand there in front of me and tell me you failed.  Now is not the time for wallowing, buddy!"

"They took Jubilee and I couldn't stop them.  For all we know they've got Bobby and Kitty and Logan and everyone else too.  And what did I do instead of staying to help them?  I ran like a child," Peter declared sadly.  

"No, you didn't run.  You did what you were told."  He looked at Rhane in surprise.  

"How-," he started to ask, when she cut him off.

"You underestimate my hearing far to often," she added smugly.  "I may have been a hundred yards down that tunnel, but I heard Logan tell you to get moving.  I know he handed you Jones and told you to get us out.  And you know why he told you that?" she demanded, rhetorically.  Peter shook his head.  "Because you're strong, and you're brave, and he knew you could handle the responsibility of leading these kids, of leading us."  Peter felt like Rhane's words had doused him in ice water.  

"What did you say, Rhane?"

"You heard me.  We look up to you, Peter.  And whether you like it or not, you're in charge here."  He turned and started to walk away into the under brush, but the little redhead pursued him.  "We need you, Pete!  It's time for you to be a leader."

"Vell I'm not ready to lead yet," he called back.  It was too much, all of it.  He'd failed once already, he couldn't risk all these kid's lives if he failed again.

"Well you don't have a choice!"  That stopped Peter in his tracks.  "This time the job chose you, and if you walk away, you really will have failed."  Rhane was done, she'd said her bit.  Pete heard her part the brush and walk back into the shallow cave.  She was leaving it up to him, he could either stay or keep on walking.  His choice.

He took a deep breath.  This was it, he was poised on the knife blade, hovering on the cliff's edge.  He didn't want to take that step.  He couldn't handle the pressure.  He wasn't up for the task.  He couldn't do it.

He knew he had to.

He used his hands to part the bushes hiding the mouth of the cave and coating the rock face beyond.  Stepping inside he sensed that all eyes were on him, standing there in the darkness.  Pete took a deep breath.

"Everyone get some sleep.  We're leaving at first light," Peter finally declared, before sitting down against the wall once more.  There were mummers of agreement from the kids, as they began to shuffle and settle down as best they could in the cramped quarters.  It was doubtful that many of them would sleep at all, but the point was that the call had been made.

Peter wasn't ready to lead yet.  But when it came to protecting those he loved, he wasn't ready to give up yet either.  


	2. Survival Skills

A/N:  Hi ya'll.  Thanks for all the reviews, it's nice to see people enjoying my story.  Ramblingsofacrazywoman (aka Bry) is right, I am borrowing details from the novel, which goes into more details on the kids escape than the movie does.  From reading the book we know that Peter, Jones, Tracy, and Rhane escape for sure.  The rest of the kids renamed unnamed, so I'm using some of the underclass from X-Men evo and some of the kids from the old Generation X comics, however, please note the ages listed, I've changed a lot of the kids to fit the story better (for example, Tabitha is not the same sophomore smart-mouth from the cartoon, she's younger and quieter here.  Jamie however, is older and more competent here).  Anyways, here's the next chapter.  Please review, review, review and have fun.  

A/N2: Please note, after realizing an error (Artie was captured that night, my bad.  Thanx Bry ;) I made a few adjustments.  Josh Foley, from New Mutants Vol.II will be taking his place.  Sorry for the mistake.

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Trekking through the forest barefoot and barely dressed is hard enough.  It's even harder when you don't know where you're going.  South was the only destination Peter had in mind; south and as far away from the school as they could get.  There was no way to know if they were still being hunted, but better to play it safe than sorry he figured.  

            He shifted Tracy and Jones in his glinting, metal arms.  It was easier to carry them when fully armored.  It was also easier to walk through the thick underbrush with his feet encased in steel.  Rhane padded along next to him, the two of them leading the group.  She was in her semi-human form, appearing like a werewolf from some bad 80's B movie.  But like Peter's armor, her meta-human state offered her feet some protection from the tough flooring while still allowing her to carry little Josh Foley pick-a-back style.  

            Peter glanced back over his shoulder often to check on the other children's progress and to be sure that hadn't lost anyone.  Josh, at 9, was the smallest and had had the most trouble keeping up, resulting in his free ride from Rhane.  Blonde Tabitha Smith, 12 and usually the most boisterous and bouncy of the younger class, had hardly spoken a word since last evening.  They had done the best they could to bandage the tazer burn on her left arm, and Josh had healed her best as he could, but she was clearly still in pain.  Peter was worried that it might get infected, but there was little they could do now but keep an eye on it.  Next to her was Jamie Madrox…or rather four Jamie's in succession.  The constant jarring against tree branches and fellow travelers was making it difficult to keep from acting out his codename: Multiple.  Every bump and bang forced another duplicate out of him, but he was trying to keep a positive attitude about it, directing his copies onto the fringe of the group.

            "They can act as lookouts while we move," he explained after several odd glances from his companions.  Peter had to admit, it was a good use of man-power.  One of the clones seemed particularly interested in little Dani Moonstar.  Shy and reserved, Dani was in no mood to deal with a horny copy of a classmate.  She kept twirling her black hair nervously and moving towards the center of the group, sticking close to the larger and older Angelo 'Skin' Espinosa, whom the copy seemed afraid of.  And understandably so.  With over a foot and a half of extra skin hanging off his body, the eleven-year-old's strange appearance took a little getting used to, but he made up for his looks with a personality that could charm anyone.  

            Bringing up the rear was ten year old Roberto de Costa.  Peter had been the most worried about him this morning.  Between the struggle of last night and the lack of sunlight in the dense forest, it had taken a long time to rouse the boy this morning.  But as he flitted from patch of sunlight to patch of sunlight as he walked, the boy's strength seemed to be returning.  His condition was being closely monitored by his friend Amara Aquilla.  At twelve, the former princess of a secluded island paradise was not used to walking miles at dawn in her undergarments.  But to her credit she hadn't complained…well, much.

            Reassured that everyone was present and accounted for, Pete faced forward again, the sun warming his face through the trees.  If he closed his eyes he could almost pretend that it was a typical Saturday and he and the guys were just heading out for a pick-up game of football…almost.

            "Peter," Rhane growled in a rough voice, bursting his daydream like a bubble.  "We need to stop for a while.  The kids are going on little sleep and no food, they won't make it much farther."  And he had to admit she was right.  With his own hunger staring to gnaw at his stomach, he could only imagine how the younger ones were doing.

            "Yeah I know Rhane, but I'm afraid that if we stop we won't be able to start up again."

            "Maybe we won't have to," she said hopefully.  "Maybe we've gone far enough."  But deep down neither of them believed that.  Finally surrendering to common sense and the aching in his feet, Pete raised his hands and called the group to a halt.  They collapsed to the ground huffing and puffing, muttering under their breath about blisters and splinters.  

            Gently putting his charges onto the softest piece of ground he could find, Peter let the armor recede from his body, shrinking and softening back into his normal self.  The gentle breeze that hung in the air felt good against his bare chest.  He collapsed onto the ground next to Jones, gesturing for Rhane to have a seat beside him, but she shook her head.

            "Look, there's something I want to check out while you guys take a load off," she told him, starting to walk back the way they had come.

            "Rhane…don't go running off, we need to stick together…" he warned, but the girl was having no part of it.

            "C'mon, big boy, I know these woods better than anyone around her.  Don't worry so much.  I'll be back," she assured Pete in a voice.  Then, with a jaunty wink, she dropped onto all fours, fully wolf, and sprinted off.

            "Damn it," Pete cursed under his breath, but no one heard.  

            Two hours later, Rhane stumbled back into the group, wagging her tail triumphantly and carrying something in her mouth.  Peter had waited for close to an hour for her to return, but he had finally decided that she would have to catch up later as the group moved on.  And close to two miles later, she did.  

            "Where the hell have you been?" Peter asked, as the group stopped their ongoing march.  Rhane's fur shrank and paws disappeared, leaving her fully human and standing in the center of the lose circle of kids.

            "And _what_ are those?" Amara demanded, pointing to the two bloody bundles at Rhane's feet and cringing.  The girl chose to answer her friend's question first.  

            "These," Rhane said, bending and picking up the 'bundles' by the ears, "are breakfast."  Amara turned slightly green.  

            "They're rabbits."

            "People eats rabbits," Rhane countered defensively.  "And seeing as how there's no McDonalds near by, we're those people.  Unless you'd like to go hungry, of course?"

            "I'm not eating Thumper and Peter Cottontail on a spit, no matter how hungry I get," Amara pouted, crossing her arms and shooting Rhane a dirty look.  The older girl looked like she frankly didn't give a damn.

            "Fine by me, more for everyone else.  The princess can just starve," she muttered scathingly.

            "Enough!" Peter shouted, finally stepping in between the two girls.  Good thing too; Amara looked pretty close to jumping Rhane, and that wouldn't have been pretty.  Rhane, however, seemed unperturbed.  She shoved the dead rabbits into Peter's limp fists and began pacing and kicking at the ground in front of her with a strange kind of shuffle-step.  Maybe her weird walk-dance was why Pete decided to deal with Magma first.  "Look," he said turning to the brooding brunette, "like it or not Rhane's right.  We're stuck roughing it for a little.  So while you're welcome to keep to complain and feel put out, it would be a lot easier on the rest of us if you just accepted that fact and moved on."

            Pete hadn't meant to sound so imposing and upset, but he must have because 'Mara's chin began to quiver a little and she wouldn't meet his eyes.  Looking terribly embarrassed, she fell back to the fringes of the group.  Dani gave her a slight hug, though, and she stated to look a little better.  

            "And Rhane…" Peter began, but when he turned to look the girl straight in the face, she was no longer there.  In fact, she was several yards away, still kicking and stamping on the ground, and ignoring him completely.  "Rhane!"  That got her attention.

            "What?" she demanded indignantly, flouncing over as if the events moments earlier had never occurred.  Peter just sighed, brandishing the limp rabbits like a sword .  

            "Look, you have to be more patient and understanding with everyone.  We're not all as adept at wilderness survival as you.  And some of us," he said, staring poignantly at Amara, "take a little more time adjusting than others."

            "Time's what'll get you killed out here…" she muttered, 'till Peter shot her a warning look.  "Okay, okay, I'll lay off," she conceded, still stamping around.

            "And what in God's name are you doing?"  She sighed and looked at the larger boy as if he were an idiot.

            "I'm looking for a bedrock plate where we can start a fire without it looking like we set John lose in the forest-oh."  At the mention of their currently MIA classmate, everyone fell silent for a moment, remembering…well, just remembering.

            "Which brings us back to the matter at hand," Pete said after an awkward minute of silence, addressing the group as a whole now.  "I'm not sure how good of an idea it is to light a fire when we're trying _not_ to attract attention."  He shrugged helplessly.  This was not his area of expertise, but fortunately it was someone's.

            "Dry wood," a small voice spoke up from the back.

            "What was that?" Peter asked, scanning faces to look for the speaker.  

            "Dry wood," Dani Moonstar said a little more loudly.  "My dad and I used to camp when I was younger.  He taught me that dry wood burns with no smoke."  It was the first time Dani had ever said more than three words to Peter, and he had to admit, he was a little stunned.

            "Hey, I saw a dead Oak tree 'bout a half a mile back," Rhane chimed in, pointing over her shoulder.  "That stuff should be nice and dry by now."  Peter thought for a sec before coming to a decision.

            "Alright, Dani, Rhane, and Jamie go get as much wood as you possibly can," he declared.  "The rest of us, let's clear away some of this brush and try to set up camp."

            "You know, if we whack Jamie over the head a few times, we could probably make enough clones to haul the whole tree back here, but whatever," Rhane muttered, picking up a stick and feigning an attack on Jamie.  Jamie smiled softly, the first one he'd shown in a while.  And that was when Peter knew.  He knew in that instant that no matter what came their way, they'd be okay, all of them.  See, less than a day ago Jamie's home had been destroyed, his friends captured, his girlfriend sedated into unconsciousness, and yet he could still manage see the happiness and the good in this life.

            'Yes,' Peter thought to himself, 'we will get through this.  And as long as there are children, the world will get through this as well."


	3. Revelations and Lost Discoveries

            The light was starting to fade, both from the sky and the dying campfire in front of him.  Peter watched the setting sun in wonder, amazed that one world could contain both such beauty…and such hatred.  Around him, some of the children talked in low voices though most had fallen asleep, exhausted, slightly less hungry than before, and their spirits lifted by the return of two members to their ranks.

            Tracy and Jones's revival had been pretty anticlimactic.  Jones had simply sat up, out cold one moment, perfectly coherent the next.  Complaining of only a slight headache and his inability to see clearly due to the subsequent loss of his glasses, he had gladly joined in the feeding frenzy around the campfire.  Several minutes later, Tracy followed suit.  Their presence made the group feel a little more complete, and Peter couldn't help but noticing that the children's morale seemed better as well.  However, peace didn't last long.

            Still sulking, Amara had refused to eat.  She was grumpy and snappish, and was starting to look as if her hunger made her regret the fit she'd thrown earlier.  Although getting shot down by Rhane again could have accounted for that as well.  See, when the rabbits had _finally _finished cooking, Amara had noticed that Rhane wasn't eating either, so she smugly asked,

            "What's that matter, Rhanie?  It's good enough for the little kids, but it ain't good enough for you?"  Amara was clearly feeling very triumphant when Rhane had casually responded,

            "No, I'm just full from the squirrel I ate earlier."  At that, Amara had turned six shades of green and walked away from the campfire's warm glow.  She'd been sulking ever since.  

            The second issue arose after the kid's, finding their stomachs full, started complaining of being thirsty.  Personally, Peter was impressed they'd gone as long as they had.  But still, it had taken wolf-Rhane and twelve Jamie clones almost an hour and a half before they found a source of moving water that was clean enough to drink.  It took even longer for Rhane and Peter to alternate taking small groups there and back.  And now, exhausted from lack of sleep and food (for two badly roasted rabbits aren't nearly enough to fill up ten starving kids) he Pete content to just watch the sun fall below the horizon and think back to happier times.  But life, keeping up with its recent pattern of chaos, had other ideas.  There was a crunching of leaves coming from behind him, and moments later Rhane plopped gracelessly onto the ground beside him.

            "Peter?" she whispered tentatively.  

            "Hm?" he grunted in reply.  What he would've given to sink like the sun, beyond the horizon, and end up somewhere far away from here, away from his heartache and worry.  But clearly that wasn't going to happen.

            "Peter, I need to tell you something."

            "Hm?" he grunted again.  

            "When I left…I didn't really go out hunting.  That was kinda just an added bonus," Rhane confessed, wringing her hands in her lap.  That got Peter's attention.  He stared at her through the darkness, fuming silently.

            "What?" he demanded, his face an inch from the nervous girl's.

            "I…," she stuttered, twining her hands like she thought she'd squeeze the truth from them if she just twisted harder.  "I went back."  
            "Back where?" Pete asked, feeling that he already knew the answer.

            "To the school," she admitted.  "Back home."  Seeing the anger in her companion's eyes, she threw up her hands, "No, let me explain," she said quickly.  Peter's mouth snapped closed on whatever lecture he was planning to give, and he nodded.  

            "Look, I…I wanted to see the damage in the daylight.  I wanted to see if anyone had, maybe, comeback.  If they were looking for us."  She got up and began to pace back and forth.  Her restlessness was one of Rhane's most wolfish qualities.  "Worst case scenario, I was hoping to maybe find someone's wallet, or a pair of shoes, something to help us."  She stopped walking and looked Peter square in the eyes and, he was surprised to admit, he saw tears shining in the corners.  "But I couldn't get myself to go inside…there was…there was this bloody handprint on the door at the back entrance and," her voice quivered, "I…I just couldn't do it.  I was afraid of what I'd find if I did."  She shook her head, looking lost and younger than her thirteen years.  "I couldn't do it, I couldn't do it."  Peter felt his anger abet, and he did the only thing he could think of: he got to his feet and wrapped her shaking body in his arms.  She buried her auburn head in his shoulder, sobs wracking her narrow body as she clung to him weakly, releasing all the terror and pain and frustration that she'd kept locked since last night.  

            Peter had no idea how long they stood there for, but after a while Rhane's sobs calmed.  She sniffed and pulled away from him a little, wiping her tears on the back of her hand.   

            "I'm sorry," she admitted finally.  

            "Shhhhhh!" Peter silenced her, wrapping his arm comfortingly around her.  "You're not the first girl to cry on my shoulder."  Judging by her look, Rhane hadn't expected to hear that.  "You know," he said, peering down at her tear streaked face, "you remind me a lot of my sister."  
            "Really?"

            "Yeah.  I wish she was here right now," he muttered distantly.  "She was always so calm and sensitive.  I really with I could talk to her…"  Rhane stiffened under his arm, and he shot her a wry glance.  

            "Peter…there's something else I need to tell you," she admitted.  He pulled her away from him and held her at arms length so that she looked him squared in the face.

            "What?"

            "As I was coming back…I ran across a few scent trails that I didn't recognize," she murmured, looking serious.  "I thought they might be the teachers for a little, but then I picked up another scent."

            "What?" Pete demanded again.

            "Sulfur residue," she said, then in response to Pete's blank look, added, "from automatic weapons."  It clicked I his head almost immediately.

            "The soldiers?"  
            "Yeah," Rhane muttered.  "They're working their way outward in waves, starting from the mansion."  Peter pushed her aside a little roughly and began pacing in a clever parody of Rhane's movement moments before, running his hands through his hair.  "Pete?"

            "Why didn't you tell me this earlier?" he demanded suddenly, rushing at her.  She backed up, frightened by his swift motion.  "Why?"  

            "Look, I didn't want to worry-," she stuttered.

            "-Worry.  You didn't want to worry me?" he shouted, enraged.  "Well I guess you should have thought of that before you made me leader, huh?!?"  He turned and began storming back to camp.

            "Peter," she called after him.  "Wait!"  She rushed up next to him, jogging to keep up with his long strides.  "What are you going to do?"

            "Get everybody up," he told her coldly.  "It's not safe to stay put tonight-."  Now it was Rhane's turn to cut him off.

            "Now, hang on just a sec.  That's a pretty big distance to cover, they'll never get that far while we sleep," she explained, jumping in front of him to stop his forward progress.  "Besides, how do we know they'll even be able to find us?"  He stopped and turned towards her in the oncoming darkness.

            "Did it ever occur to you, Rhane, that they might be tracking with animals?"  She didn't speak; she had no idea where he was going with this, but thinking back, she had smelled something similar to her own wolfish scent.  Probably dogs, big deal.  They could handle some old German Shepards.  "Now those tunnels extend pretty far beyond the school, that might have bought us enough time before they picked up our scents.  But now, with your scent going right up to the school, and straight back here, we've lost that cushion."  Rhane's stomach twisted up inside of her as ice filled her veins.  "You've led them straight to us," he said, and with that, he shoved past her, knocking her shoulder slightly as he stormed back into camp.

            Rhane's knees hit the damp forest floor, shaking beneath her.  No, she couldn't have done that…how could she have been so stupid…she, of all people should have been aware of that possibility…The thoughts tumbled around in her brain as the protest of sleepy kids filled the air behind her.

            "Pete, what's the deal?"

            "It's too dark out to go anywhere…"

            "What's'matter?"

            "Shhhh!" Pete ordered, quieting the masses.  "I know it's dark, but we've got men on our trail again, and we can't let them catch up to us-,"

            "What?"

            "They found us, they're gonna get us all!"

            "What are we gonna do???"

            "Shhhh!" he ordered again.  "Everyone's got to be calm," Peter assured them all.  "We've got some breathing room, but we have to keep moving.  Now everyone up, we gotta go.  Amara, you and Josh put out that fire, everyone else, on your feet."  There were shuffles and moans, but no one protested out-loud.  Rhane, however, stayed right where she was, lost in a world of here own guilt.  She jumped reflexively when she felt a hand clamp down on her shoulder.  "Rhane?"  

            The anger was gone from Peter's voice, but he couldn't mask the disappoint it carried.  "Can you get up?"  She nodded weakly, standing but not looking at him.  This was no time to be feeling sorry for herself, she chastised silently.  "That river we went to earlier, can you find it in the dark?"  Another soft nod.  "Good, we need you to lead us there.  We need to lose our scent by wading along for a while."  It was a good plan, Rhane knew, and their best chance at this point.  She nodded a final time, calling up her mutation and letting the fur spread across her body and her ears prickle up her head.  On all fours, she padded silently ahead, the others following behind to the dim light of the fireball contained in Amara's hands.  

            Jamie was exhausted, physically and mentally, and so were his copies.  And every time he integrated with one of them, its hunger added to his own, it's fatigue wearing him down, it's pain making his even greater.  But with Tracy walking bravely by his side once again, he felt stronger.  So, though he was running on empty energy-wise, Jamie still managed to produce another two duplicates to play bodyguard on this little hike.  Whether it was one of them, or the original Jamie who spotted _it_ first is a debatable topic, but one of them sent up a cry after a few hours of walking in the bone numbingly cold water.

            "Hey!" the shout pierced the silence and Peter, walking in the lead, stopped and doubled back to the tail end of the procession.  Jamie, as well as everyone else, was peering at something through the shroud of trees.  A dim, stumbling silhouette, barely visible in the moonlight.  Its head was moving rapidly, and it appeared to be leaning heavily on a tree for support.  "What the hell is that?" the Jamie asked.  They all watched in wonder as the figure tried to step away from its support, failed and crashed to the ground with a weak cry.

            "Stay," Peter ordered everyone else, grabbing Amara and pulling her along, gesturing for Rhane to follow as they cautiously approached.

            It was no soldier, Peter realized with a small sigh of relief.  He crouched next to the defiantly feminine figure, and rolled her over gently, from where she lay on her side.  His hands came away coated wet and sticky.  Confused, he gestured Amara forward, need the light she offered.  As the shadows receded and the face emerged in thee darkness, a gasp went up from Amara and the now human Rhane.

            "It's Kitty!" Peter cried.

            And she, like Peter's hand, was coated in blood.

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A/N: Dun Dun Dun!  Evil cliffies.  BTW, I'm ignoring that section of the book that has Kitty and Syrin in the grocery store when the Cerebro attack happens, mostly because it's a very random paragraph, and not that long.  Hey, my story, my choice.  Also, I was informed (Thanks!) of a blonde-moment mistake I made because Artie gets captured that night and I had him wandering along with our little escapees.  I corrected that in the last chapter and he has been replaced by a younger version of New Mutants, Vol. II's Josh Foley, who has a healing touch.  Just to let you know.  And yes, now that I'm back from vacation there won't be so long between updates…that is, if you people continue to review.  C'mon, hit that little purple button!  Make my day (or flame me, if you want, whatever floats your boat)!  Do it, do it, do it!!!!!!!


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